packing boxes!

Hey guys! Life has been extremely crazy and I've kind of fallen off the blogosphere. I've missed y'all! I just wanted to update everyone and let you know what's been going on with us lately.

I've been working hard at school. And Nate's studying hard and working hard. He took a test the weekend before last to get certified in Business Analysis and passed on the first try which was super exciting! He had put so much time preparing for it and put so much energy into it, so I'm super proud of him for passing.

We're also getting ready to drop off our Operation Christmas Child boxes. I haven't been blogging about this as much as I've wanted because things have been so busy, but we're almost ready to drop everything off now! Our goal was 50 boxes originally. Due to some changes we made in our budget, we ended up cutting our goal back to 25, which we met! We had a lot of help from our family and friends and have managed to exceed that goal! My parents helped us purchase a TON of things to put in the boxes. And our AWESOME friends Ben and Heather contributed two more boxes. And then Nate's mom and sisters filled ELEVEN more boxes. The wonderful Laura and her husband over at unpunctuated life. are also filling boxes for OCC. So even though we had to cut our goal in half this year, we still ended up almost reaching fifty with the help of everyone who joined in the cause! And it was so great to work together with everyone and see everyone help out in their own special way! :)

 

Here I am filling boxes.

And here's the assembly line Nate made!

And here is Chloe "helping out." Really, she's inspecting what's going in the boxes to see what she can sneak back into her crate.

This has been such a great experience and we've learned a lot. We definitely want to do it again and we know much more about how to do things better and more effectively next year. We're really excited about dropping off the boxes so they can make their way off to the children!

I'm going to try and start posting some more. And hopefully I can get another "Thrifting Thursday" post up again this week because I found something AWESOME I want to share with y'all. Hope everything is going well with everyone! Miss you guys!

moving day!

So. Now that we're pretty much settled I figured I would start updating y'all on the craziness that has been the past two weeks.

Our moving day was Saturday the 20th. We had hired movers. And my awesome friend Mary had come up from Columbia to help me out with the cleaning and unpacking and arranging. I had to start work on that Monday and had to go get a TB test read that day, as well as go to the sheriff's department to get my background check and fingerprinting done. So we had decided that Nate would stay at our apartment to wait on the movers (who were supposed to arrive at noon), Mary would head to the new place and turn on the power so the AC could start doing its thing, and then I would take care of everything for work before going to meet Mary.

Sounds simple, right? You would think.

I'm leaving the courthouse to head to our new house when Mary calls and tells me she can't get the air to come on. After talking to her some, I find out it's because the power won't come on. We try everything we possibly can to try to get it work and nothing happens. So I call Nate. At this point, it's 2:00 and I'm expecting the movers to have gotten there by now. When he answers the phone he tells me their morning move is taking longer than expected and they don't know when they're going to be there. Then I tell him our issue with the power, so he calls the electric company and tells me that someone will be out within the next three hours to fix whatever's wrong.

Fast forward to about 6:30. Mary and I have been waiting four and a half hours in a hot, powerless, empty house with a smoke detector that is screaming at us because the battery needs to be changed. And Nate has been waiting all day on the movers, who have gotten lost twice, to get to the apartment.

Abby and I waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

FINALLY, the guy came and fixed the power situation around 7:00. And the movers found Nate. And at 9:30 that night, they made it to the house. We pushed and pushed and pushed and helped them unload everything as fast as we could and they were gone by 11:00. 

Needless to say, we didn't get even half of what we wanted to done on Saturday, but thank God that we did get moved in. And nothing was broken or lost. And we had the help of our great friend Mary, as well as our wonderful, loving family (who came on Sunday to help clean) - which made a HUGE difference. So despite all the insanity of the weekend, we definitely were blessed!

And here's one of my favorite things in our new house.

The lights over our kitchen table!

If you read all of this, then I am pretty impressed. And appreciative. It means a lot that you would take the time to invest your time in our lives. :)

I'll update y'all soon on the rest of the move, the new job, and hopefully get some pictures of the new place posted! And I'm slowly working my way through all of your blogs. I've missed so much in the past couple of weeks!

i carried a watermelon.

So, how was your Fourth of July weekend? What did you do that was special?

Nate and I had some craziness; but overall, ours was pretty good.

On Thursday night, Nate and I were on the way to get dinner and run some errands when we experienced some pretty serious car troubles. We had to call our friends, Ryan and Steph, who were AMAZING and came all the way to the mechanic's to pick us up. But it was a blessing in disguise because we got to go to dinner with them when we hadn't seen them in at least a month. :)

On Friday Nate got a call from one of the guys at the shop. Me, being the GENIUS that I am, locked the car using the security system and didn't leave the key FOB with the key. So of course, when they tried to get into the car they couldn't. So Nate had to come all the way back home to get the rest of the keys and take them over to the shop.

After that trip, we went to our new favorite spot - JASON'S DELI!

Nate is in LOVE with their salad bar.

And I am absolutely addicted to their Chicago Club.

smoked turkey, bacon, provolone, organic spinach, roma tomatoes, smoked red pepper cilantro aioli, herb focaccia. <3

Pretty yummy.

We went down to Columbia this weekend to see the family.

On Saturday morning, Nate and I shared a watermelon that was quite delicious.

chloe jumped in my picture.

nate loves his knives.

After our tasty breakfast, we spent the day with Nate's family. We went shopping with his sisters. He actually came too! I got a pair of silver sandals from Payless for only $6 and a pair of nude flats from Target for $12. Which was SUPER exciting because I love love LOVE shoes, but don't like to pay a lot of money for them. And you just can't find shoes as cheap as you can find clothes.

We were supposed to go to my grandma's house with my parents for dinner on Saturday night, but her power went out, so we all met and went out somewhere instead. After dinner we got to go by my parents' house and look inside! They're doing a ton of renovations and aren't living there right now and we didn't think we'd be able to go in because the hardwoods had just been redone. But we did - and it looks great! I can't wait to see the finished product! :)

On Sunday we went to church and lunch with Nate's family. His sister, Jen, and her husband brought their little girl over so we could give her the birthday present we got her. We had to miss her third birthday party because it was the day Nate's back went out and we had to rush to urgent care. :(

Being the teacher that I am, I have to get her a book every year. This year was Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. And we just happened to find a floor puzzle to go with it on clearance!

opening her gift!

working on her puzzle with aunt "smeshmie"

all done!

We also had a belated birthday celebration for Nate. And his mom baked his absolute favorite. Carrot cake. It was AMAZING.

After all of that, we packed up all our things, loaded up the dogs, and headed to my grandma's house for our second try at dinner. Everything worked out and she fixed a wonderful meal consisting of roast, string beans, squash casserole, homemade rolls, tomatoes, and quite a few other things. And for dessert?

homemade cherry cobbler!

We came home Sunday night and spent our Fourth pretty low key. We had some stuff to figure out regarding the car situation and we were exhausted from our long weekend with the family so we ended up heading to a small farmer's market and getting a ton of fresh, local fruits and vegetables and then finishing up our grocery shopping, fixing dinner and eating together and spending a relaxing night watching Cosby reruns.

But we had a great weekend full of family, friends and celebration. We had watermelon, ice cream, cake and cobbler. We got to worship freely in a church of our choosing. I'd say we had the perfect celebration of our Independence Day. :)

chloe says bye! :)

gettin' crafty.

I am NOT a crafty person. I love art, fashion, interior design. But I don't do crafts.

BUT we did get the dogs a new food and water holder the other weekend at the farmers market.

And I actually decorated it for the puppies!

And that, my friends, is probably pretty close to the extent of my craftiness.

Before I take off, I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS! to Heather and Ben, wonderful friends of ours. They just recently got engaged. And we are SUPER happy for them. :)

That's all.

fifteen minutes to live.

So I have committed to this. 


And today's prompt is:

Gwen Bell – 15 Minutes to Live

We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.

1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.
2. Write the story that has to be written.

(Author: Gwen Bell)

Soooooo...here goes...

I don't have much time left and there are so many things that I can think of to say.

Before anything, I need to be sure that Nate knows how much I love him.  He has been my best friend in this world for so long now and has been so supportive of me.  He has taken care of me, stood by me and always made sure that I had all I wanted and was able to achieve my dreams.  He has brought out the best qualities in me and helped me see the areas in which I need to grow.  He has never allowed me to settle and never accepted less than the best from me.  He has believed in me and because of his faith in me, I have been able to gain hope and confidence in myself.  I'm blessed to have known him and grateful for all he has done for me.  He is such a strong, smart, capable man.  And my hope is that he goes on to find happiness after I'm gone.

I also need to be sure that my parents know how grateful I am for all they have done for me over the years.  They brought me into their lives, raised me and took care of me.  They put up with a lot from me and were way more patient with me than I probably would have ever been if I were in their place.  They have always been a strong support system.  And for all that they have done, I need to say thank you. And 'I love you,' to them both.

To all of my family and friends, I am so thankful for everything they have done for me.  I know they have had to put up with a lot!  I have been blessed with a great support system and wonderful people with whom I have been able to spend my life. I couldn't have asked to be surrounded by better people. I love them all.

To everyone I have wronged, please forgive me for what I have done to you. And to those who I have been holding grudges against, I forgive you.

Finally, don't forget - "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " - Romans 8:37-39

 So. What would you say if you had fifteen minutes left to live?

it's christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you! We hope it is filled with joy, peace and love! And thankfulness - not just for friends and family and all that you receive during this blessed time, but for the most wonderful Gift of all. :)

blessed.

Things have been pretty hectic around here lately. We've been driving all over the world, Nate's been working extremely hard, and I've been trying to get all the loose ends tied up for the end of the semester and for graduation. So I guess I'll just start where I left off a couple weeks ago...

Nate and I had a pretty great Thanksgiving. He had the entire week off and I had three days off. His grandpa came down from Minnesota and stayed with us for a day. He was supposed to be here longer, but the airline does what airlines do best and screwed his flight up. He had arranged for someone to take him to his plane in a wheelchair, but the person never showed. By the time someone got there and got him across the airport, the plane had left. Early. Without him. Sooooo we had to go pick his baggage up at midnight and then Nate had to go back the next day and get him. We packed up for five days away and loaded the car with all our bags, the dogs and all their belongings, Grandpa G and all of his belongings and Nate and I. I had about 10 inches worth of room in the back seat which I had to share with Abigail, Chloe and my purse. Then we drove Grandpa down to Columbia and spent the next couple days with Nate's family. We had a very yummy Thanksgiving meal. I made squash casserole and pumpkin cookies. And Nate made sauteed green beans. We played games and spent a lot of quality time with everyone, including our adorable niece, Alexa.

This face is priceless.

I really do love this girl!

Everyone worked hard on these decorations!

Heidi, Christiana and me with Grandpa G!

The placecards.

Nate and Alexa!

We also took advantage of the fact that we had the whole family together and took some family pictures...

And here we are! :)

The day after Thanksgiving we packed up all our stuff and the dogs and loaded the car back up. This time, sans Grandpa and his bags, which meant Abby and Beans got the backseat all to themselves and I got to sit up front. Actually, let me make a correction. I got to drive. Down to James Island (Charleston). While Nate got to nap. Wooooo. Hooooo. We spent the next two and a half days camping with my extended family. It was a ton of fun! We had all the essentials. S'mores. Campfires. Bikes. A buffet for every meal including things like brisket, homemade biscuits, oysters and pancakes. A flat screen TV to watch the Clemson v. Carolina game. You know, the necessities.

Watching USC kick Clemson's tail!

This works WAY better than a campfire! And burns marshmallows in about 5 seconds.

Our beautiful rented motorhome.

The James Island County Park is decorated in amazing displays of Christmas lights every year, so we got to see that every time we went out at night. Plus, they have a winter festival and adorable Christmas shops. I got an penguin ornament with our names on it for our tree! (I buy one everywhere we go. I'm not big on themed trees. I like them to be personal and unique. Also, I'm obsessed with penguins. I want one for a pet but Nate keeps telling me no. I have no clue why.)

The trip down to Charleston was great and the perfect way to relax. And it was so nice to see so many family members. Overall, I'd say our Thanksgiving break was pretty amazing. :)

Now, two weeks late, I'm going to end with a list of things for which I am EXTREMELY thankful. I know I have more updating to do, but we have been so blessed that I don't want to go without this.

I am thankful for...
...the love and grace which bas been bestowed on me by my perfect Father.
...my amazing husband, who constantly puts up with me, takes care of me and loves me.
...our two beautiful, adorable, crazy puppies who make sure our lives are never boring.
...the amazing families we both have and the fact that we can be near them and spend so much time with them.
...being given the opportunity to get to know so many amazing children and their families and be a part of their lives.
...finally finishing school and the fact that I was able to go to grad school for free.
...being able to stay in Charlotte and not having to move eight hours away.
...being able to get super cheap flights so we could go visit family we wouldn't have been able to see otherwise.
...all my amazing friends, who, even though we don't talk as much anymore, are always there.
...finding a church home here in Charlotte.


I could add many more items to this list, but it's almost 11:00 and I have to be at school at 7:30 in the morning. AND we have to drive to Columbia late tomorrow. Needless to say, I need sleep if I'm going to function at all. So the rest of the updating will hopefully come very very soon.

Goodnight. :)

we eat WAY too many tacos.

I woke up with a headache AGAIN today. And took some medicine, went back to bed and slept in AGAIN today. Now I'm finally up getting things done around the house. And making a yummy Chicken Caesar Salad for lunch. :)

This weekend was pretty good. On Friday, I worked and then came home and fixed tilapia, baked mashed potatoes and salads for dinner. I really could eat seafood everyday. Then on Saturday I worked all day long (from 10 to 5). And Nate ended up driving down to Columbia to help his friend Ben pack up all his stuff because he moved up here to Concord. I spent all Saturday night here by myself watching 90210 and Law and Order SVU reruns until he got home at 10:30. Then on Sunday morning, we went up to Concord to help him unpack all his stuff. After we got home, we went looking at apartments. And we actually found a couple we like - YAY! :) And when we got home we ate dinner. Guess what we had? It starts with a T and ends with ACOS!!!!!! My new favorite, in case you couldn't tell.

We're in seriously bad shape when it comes to groceries right now. No bread, milk, or cheese. No TACO SHELLS. No popsicles. Just to name a few things. But at least we have the things I need for my lunch.

Oh, and here are some more pictures from the Walk Now for Autism Speaks. I didn't do a very good job at documenting it, but Nate's family came and Heidi took some good ones. So I stole these.

The Charlotte Motor Speedway...where the walk was.

Nate jumping.

Nate and Heidi.

Me, Rebecca, Wesley and Nate!

The Pit Stop Challenge!

She was fast!

I was not!

And now it's time for truth number four!

4. Something you have to forgive someone else for.

Hm. You know, I try to make it a habit to forgive others for things they've done to me as soon as I can. Because I really hate harboring resentment against people. And God says that we are to forgive people who do wrong against us "seventy times seven." I didn't always live this way, and I found out pretty quickly that holding grudges can make you a very bitter and angry person. And life just isn't worth living that way. We weren't meant to live life that way. So I really can't think of a single person I have yet to forgive for something. 

And that is all. :)

EDIT: Apparently we are in worse shape as far as groceries go than I thought. And we're out of lettuce. So no salad for me. Just chicken. :(  It's definitely going to be shopping time when I get off work.

procrastinating.

Today is my day off! Yay! No work AND it's fall break so no driving to Columbia for class. I have so much to get done but so far things have not gone as planned.

I got about 4 hours of sleep last night (which has become the routine) so I ended up lying in bed until about 10 trying to will my body to give in for at least one more hour. But that didn't happen. So I got up, ate breakfast, fed the puppies and walked them, got ready for the day and now I'm eating lunch.

I haven't finished the laundry or done the dishes or cleaned the bathroom or mailed out the cards I need to send or worked on my project for class. And what am I doing now? Blogging. Oh well, after this I will get to work and will hopefully be able to come back and tell y'all all about the wonderful accomplishments of this afternoon.

This week hasn't been very exciting. Work and school and more work for both of us. Nate worked from home yesterday but I was at two of my three jobs all morning and afternoon so I didn't really get to spend any time with him. But I'm planning on actually cooking dinner tonight and getting everything done around the house since I'll be home so we can spend time together tonight.

And as far as the weekend goes, there isn't much planned there either. I have to work more hours than usual. And Nate is helping a friend of his move up here this weekend. Which I'm sure he's pretty excited about since we don't really know anyone at all (anyone who lives in the greater Charlotte area and would like to be friends, PLEASE leave a comment...k thanks!) and since I work every weekend and leave him home to fend for himself. Now he will have someone to hopefully occupy his time while I'm off with my kids learning about composers and Sponge Bob and fighting off evil villains.

Oh, and of course we'll be going to church. And hopefully visiting a possible Sunday School class this week. And we're also planning on doing the corn maze sometime very soon...when my work hours allow it that is.

And I guess that's all. Now, onto truth number three...

3. Something you have to forgive yourself for.
When I first started college, I made a lot of mistakes. It took me longer than most to finish my undergraduate career and I learned a lot of lessons the hard way. I made things very difficult not only for myself, but also for my family and for Nate. And I still don't necessarily see myself as past all of that. I still tend to let it define who I am, and I think that makes it very hard for me to experience successes in life now. I still feel like I need to make up for all those mistakes. I know I need to forgive myself for the choices I made, learn from that time in my life and move on. And I'm working on it...but it's definitely not easy.

And, as usual...what about you? Is there anything you need to forgive yourself for? Move on from?

walk the walk.

Today was a pretty great day! We had friends and family come up to see us and walk in the Carolinas Walk Now for Autism Speaks. And our team raised $505, which was over 60% of our goal. Not to mention that I not only met my fundraising goal, but surpassed it. Which was really awesome, because I hadn't put nearly as much effort into raising money as I should have. There was just so much going on this summer that I ended up putting it on the backburner for awhile. But all in all, everything went well. There was a great turnout today and the weather was perfect!

Oh, and here's a video of me doing the Pit Stop Challenge at the walk. Nate, Wesley, Rebecca and I all tried it. I was a little slow, but I definitely think I could have been super quick with some practice. 

After the walk, we all went and ate lunch. Then Nate and I came home and passed out. I had been up with a seriously annoying cough until about 3:30 this morning and then had to get up for the walk at 7, so by the time we got back to the apartment I could barely hold my eyes open. We were hoping to go to the corn maze today but there was absolutely no way I could have made it through that. So I guess we'll save it for next weekend. It'll be something to look forward to! There's supposed to be some sort of mystery to solve in the maze this year...so I am super excited! Anyway...I slept for about two hours and probably could have laid there longer. We had TACOS! for dinner and now we're getting ready to watch a movie before getting back in bed.

By the way, I just have to throw this in... Our Gamecocks beat Alabama today...YAY! :)

We also finally got rid of our tomato plants yesterday, but I did take a picture of our last harvest.

We'll miss you, tomatoes. Until next year...

I was going to do the second of my thirty truths, but I'm ready to curl up with the puppies and watch this movie, so I think I'm going to save it for later. Goooooooooodnight! :)

recap part two.

Before I finish my recap of the summer, I need to remind everyone that the Carolinas Walk Now for Autism is in TWO WEEKS! And if anyoneeeeee wants to join the team or donate to help us out, it is DEFINITELY not too late. My donation page is here and our team page is here. Thank you very much to everyone who has already helped out! It means more than you could know!

And now for the recap...

We had a yard sale with Nate's family.

Delicious shrimp and scallops with pasta and homemade sauce.

The trip to Florida was our first plane ride together!

Eating the best shrimp ever with Nate's grandparents!

The beautiful beach in Florida.

We saw the creepiest spider...

And manatees! :)

And got to go visit Cara and Miss Brinkley!

Woahhh...it's a double rainbow all the way...

(If you don't get it, go here.)

From the plane ride home.

Jenny and Alexa came to visit! :)

And that's all! Now back to real posts instead of pictures a mile long!